As Dallas chases its “Y’all Street” ambitions, city leaders want a new street name to match.
Mayor Eric Johnson and other city leaders have called for renaming part of North Harwood Street near Klyde Warren Park as “Exchange Place” and changing the new exchange’s future headquarters address address from 1919 Woodall Rodgers Freeway to “One Exchange Place.”
The push comes as Dallas seeks to reinforce its pro-business image, which took a hit last week after the Mavericks and Stars announced plans to leave downtown and Neiman Marcus said it will close its flagship store.
The Texas Stock Exchange, known as TXSE, is preparing to establish its headquarters in the under-construction Bank of America Tower at Parkside overlooking the park. It received SEC approval last year and aims to compete with the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, which have expanded their Texas presence in recent years.
“Dallas is serious about supporting the businesses establishing our city as a premier financial center,” Johnson, Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Moreno and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Gay Donnell Willis said in a memo last week.
The area around Klyde Warren Park has become one of the region’s leading financial corridors.
Firms including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Texas Capital Bancshares have major operations nearby, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas sits just north of downtown.
Willis said the new name would give a geographic identity to Dallas’ growing “Y’all Street.”
“We’ve had some setbacks, but you have to keep your eye on the horizon,” she said. “Not everyone’s leaving.”
Street name changes must be reviewed by city staff and the City Plan Commission, and then approved by the City Council.